LONDON—Net migration to the U.K. jumped 21% in 2010 to 239,000, as the number of people moving to Britain remained unchanged but the number leaving to live in other countries fell to its lowest level in five years, official data showed Thursday.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people immigrating to the U.K. in the year to December 2010 was 575,000—similar to the annual level of immigration seen since 2004. The number of people emigrating from the U.K., which has fallen consistently since the financial crisis began in 2008, stood at 336,000 in the year to December.
Net migration—the balance between the number of people moving to the U.K. and the number leaving on a long-term basis—increased 21% in 2010 compared with 2009, when the figure was 198,000.
The increase will likely embarrass Prime Minister David Cameron's government, given it promised to limit immigration into Britain, and comes at a time when polls show that many Britons think there are too many immigrants in the U.K. The Conservative-led government has pledged to cut net migration to the "tens of thousands" by 2015.
Since it came into office in May 2010, the government has announced a number of proposals and changes to the immigration system. These include attempting to limit migration from non-European Union countries by proposing an annual cap, while at the same time loosening criteria to allow entrepreneurs and the rich to settle in the country.
Some of the government's immigration measures, in particular the cap on non-EU migrants, have been criticized by the business community, who say they could prevent companies recruiting the skilled workers they need.
While the government's action to date hasn't curbed overall net migration, it may have impacted on the number of jobs offered to foreign nationals. Thursday's figures show the number of people migrating to the U.K. for a definite job fell to 110,000 in 2010, its lowest since March 2004. By contrast, in 2008, 168,000 people moved to the U.K. to take up a particular job.
The main reason people move to the U.K. on a long-term basis is to study, with 228,000 coming to the country to study in the year to December 2010, slightly more than the 211,000 recorded in 2009, the ONS said. The number of people immigrating to the U.K. to study has trebled over the last decade, with 78% coming from outside the EU.
Write to Ainsley Thomson at ainsley.thomson@dowjones.com
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